Need For Speed Race Preview: Richmond

Ready for night racin' this weekend? NASCAR's @ Richmond; "America's Premier Short Track" as some people call it.

It's just race 10 of the season, but for the drivers eyeing the Sprint Cup trophy - now is the time to get up and go. Nearly 80% of the drivers who've been in the top 10 or 12 in the point standings following this spring Richmond race have gone on to to qualify for the Chase.

Points are tight.

-Ryan Newman is currently 13th in the standings - just 30 points behind 12th place driver, Matt Kenseth. Stats @ Richmond: 1 win, 4 top-5's and 8 top-10's in 14 starts

-Kasey Kahne sits 14th - 33 points out. Stats @ Richmond: 1 win, 2 top-5's and 5 top-10's in 8 races

-Dale Earnhardt Jr is currently 15th - 45 points outside of 12th place. Stats @ Richmond: 3 wins, 8 top-5's and 10 top-10's in 19 races

All 3 are past Richmond winners. Ryan Newman & Kasey Kahne each have 1 win and Dale Earnhardt Jr has 3 wins there. He's the one being picked the most for the win tomorrow night. He'll need to stay away from Kyle Busch. Both Richmond races last season involved some sort of on-track altercation between those two.

Dale Earnhardt Jr, Tony Stewart and Jimmie Johnson are tied for the most wins among active drivers @ Richmond with 3.

Kurt Busch currently leads the point standings for the first time since March 13, 2005. As we've discussed before, the first 4 drivers currently holding down the top 4 positions in the standings are all past champions - with a combined 10 championships between them.

Clint Bowyer is the defending race winner - in a race where we only saw 4 lead changes. A rarity. Btw, Bowyer is currently 8th in the standings.

Martin Truex Jr was fastest during the first practice session today.
2. Ryan Newman
3. David Reutimann
4. Kyle Busch
5. Dave Blaney

There were 2 incidents within the few minutes of the practice session. Juan Pablo Montoya and Dale Earnhardt Jr had contact at the start of the session. Earnhardt Jr's tire was cut down and he spun. Soon after, Greg Biffle went for a spin and slid into the infield. Both drivers suffered minimal damage.

Jimmie Johnson was fastest during Happy Hour.
2. Jeff Gordon
3. Brian Vickers
4. David Reutimann
5. Kurt Busch

400 laps = 300 miles. TV coverage for the Crown Royal Presents the Russ Friedman 400 begins at 7 tomorrow night on FOX. Green flag is expected at approximately 7:40.

At the time I was recording this today, Nationwide Series Qualifying was underway with less than 3 hours to go 'til the green flag @ 7:30 on ESPN2.